Getty's new J.M.W. Turner masterpiece to go on display March 8

The Getty bid $44.9 million at auction for the work last year, and got word earlier this month that British authorities would grant an export license after no matching bids emerged to keep it on British soil. The painting long had resided on loan in the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh before being transferred to Sotheby's in London for the auction.

The Getty isn't saying exactly where the painting is right now -- as a matter of policy it's mum about artworks in transit. But it has put out invitations for a private do "to celebrate the arrival and installation" on March 7.

Given the painting's perspective from a hilltop overlooking the ancient city, it's possible that a new local custom could be in the offing: gaze at the Turner, then go outside and daydream to a comparable vista of Los Angeles spread out far below.